Cord fastening device



1939- EQF. RATHGEBER CORD FASTENING DEVICE Filed April 17, 1937 v INVENTOR Patented Jan. 3, 1939 UNITED STATES FATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

My invention relates to cord fastening devices and has for its primary object to provide an improved fastener for use upon bags, such for instance as are used in the modern laundry plant,

25 which may be fastened and unfastened with equal and extreme facility.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved fastener, both simple and inexpensive to manufacture, which will hold its cord se- 10. curely and which when applied in the fastening operation draws the cord tighter.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent as the specification proceeds.

With the foregoing objects in view, my invention consists of the novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described in their preferred embodiment, particularly pointed out in the appended claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein like parts are designated by the same reference characters throughout the several views.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side view of my improved cordfastening device, showing the two broken-away ends of a continuous length of cord just prior to engagement with the fastener;

Fig. 2 is a similar view, showing the cord in process of being secured in the fastener; and,

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view through the coil of the fastener, showing the cord locked around a single convolution thereof.

It is the practice in modern laundry plants to handle the clothes in bags, some of which are made of netted and some of other materials. At certain stages of the laundry process these bags are closed by winding a cord tightly about same and tying it in an ordinary knot. As speed in handling is requisite, it is customary when opening the bags to cut the cord. Because of the tightness of the cord it is practically impossible to cut it without also frequently damaging the bags. Clothes also are frequently lost through out bags. This practice is thus open to objection in that the knives and the cord, used once and thrown away, as well as bags damaged by cutting, and loss of clothes, are items of constant expense. Through use of my improved, inexpensive fastener, the cord may be used until worn out, bags are never out, and the fastening and unfastening operation is greatly expeditedwith a constant saving in the cost of materials and labor.

While I have described my novel fastener as adapted for use in securing laundry bags, it is of course obvious that the same is equally adapted to tie similar things and materials, such as bags of potatoes, etc.

Referring to the drawing, my invention consists in a fastener bent to shape from a single strand 5 of steel wire, preferably of H8 gage and having definite spring properties. In the form shown, it comprises a main, central, helical coil portion l2 of several convolutions in contact with each other. One end of the strand is bent to form an eye [3 at right-angles and central of one end of coil I2, while the other end of the strand of wire is bent away at a tangent from the last convolution of the other end of the coil, as at [6, and then to form a closed key-loop or ring I4 at right-angles to and central of the coil, the free end of the wire being wrapped, as at l5, tightly around the ring it, so that neither the eye l3 nor the ring l4 offer any protuberance that might catch in the material of the bags to be tied. A cord l! relatively thicker than the wire (and preferably of in thickness, such as is used for clothes lines and awnings) is threaded through the eye l3 and permanently there secured as at E8 by a wrapping of twine or fine wire, or the cord may be securely and simply knotted or tied in any desired manner, but preferably so as to allow free movement thereof in said eye. The free end of the cord I? in the form shown has a tapered 30 metal tip, the point 19 of which is adapted to pierce the usual identification ticket used in laundries, which ticket is then, prior to fastening the cord, slid along the same out of the way. If the fastener is. to be used for other purposes the metal tip may be omitted if desired.

In applying my improved fastening device, the cord I! is wound once around the bag, a finger of one hand being inserted in the key-loop 5%, while the free end [9 of the taut cord, held by the other hand of the operator, is laid across and at the beginning of the coil I2 within the V-shaped notch formed by the bend l6, whereupon the key [4 is turned to the right which feeds the taut cord progressively between the convolutions of the coil, where, being finally kinked tightly around the strand of a single convolution (as shown clearly at Fig. 3) in a U-shape at right-angles to the direction of pull, it is securely locked by virtue of the contacting and adjacent convolutions spring action. For unfastening, the end H? of the cord and the key-loop [4 are grasped as before, and a simple reverse twist of the key-loop instantly releases the cord. It will thus be seen that there is no winding of the cord about any part, nor knotting thereof, and the facility with which the device may be applied will be clearly apparent.

Although the drawing and the above specification disclose the best mode in which I have contemplated embodying my invention, I desire to be in no way limited to the details of such disclosure for, in the further practical application of my invention, changes in the constructional shape of the device may be made as circumstances require or experience suggests, without departing from the spirit of the invention within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A device used in connection with a cord for tying netted and other laundry bags, and similar articles, consisting in combination of a helical coil of spring wire having contacting convolutions, an eye and a loop formed respectively integral on the opposite ends of said coil and disposed in the same plane but at a right-angle to and centrally of the ends of the cylinder described by said coil, the wire of said coil having an acutely bent-away portion forming a throat at the juncture of the loop and coil.

2. A device used in connection with a cord for tying netted and other laundry bags and similar articles consisting in combination of an eye, a resilient coil of spring wire being in diameter with relation to the diameter of the cord used approximately 18 gage to respectively and composed of a plurality of contacting convolutions, a bentaway portion forming a throat, a closed loop integral with said bent-away portion and having its end closely wrapped about itself, said loop being adapted for use in twisting the coil in cooperation with the cord to tighten and to fasten the cord laterally around one of said convolutions so that under tension of the cord the cylinder described by the coil is disposed approximately longitudinally in line with the cord.

3. A device used in connection with a cord for tying netted and other laundry bags and similar articles consisting in combination of an eye, a coil of resilient wire integral therewith and having contacting convolutions, a bent-away portion on one end convolution forming a throat, a finger loop integral with said bent-away portion for winding the latter in cooperation with and to feed the cord into said throat and thence progressively between said convolutions to tighten and to kink said cord in fastening position laterally around one of said convolutions so that under tension the cord will pull the coil approximately longitudinally into line with said cord,

ERIC F. RATHGEBER. 

